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From: xanthian@saturn.ADS.COM (Metafont Consultant Account)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.tech
Subject: Re: 1.4 on 1000
Keywords: AmigaDOS 1.4 1000
Message-ID: <10800@saturn.ADS.COM>
Date: 9 Feb 90 23:20:04 GMT
References: <487c19fa.1a5bf@moth.engin.umich.edu> <5126@sugar.hackercorp.com> <131467@sun.Eng.Sun.COM> <5132@sugar.hackercorp.com>
Distribution: na
Organization: Advanced Decision Systems, Mt. View, CA (415) 960-7300
Lines: 55

In article <5132@sugar.hackercorp.com> peter@sugar.hackercorp.com (Peter da Silva) writes:
>In article <131467@sun.Eng.Sun.COM> cmcmanis@sun.UUCP (Chuck McManis) writes:
>> In article <5126@sugar.hackercorp.com> (Peter da Silva) writes:
>>>1.4 isn't for the 1000? Why? What does it do that requires more than a 1000?
>> 	Deal #0 : Turn in your A1000 and get an A500 for free.
>
>If Commodore was serious about us 1000 owners, they'd do something like that.

I wouldn't trade my  A1000 for an A500; I  type with my keyboard in my
lap.  I already have an A2000, so another one at a higher price than I
paid for this one, used, with the loss of my  A1000 in the bargain, is
no special deal.  I think Commodore is once again facing  the question
of whether it wants to be  considered a serious computer manufacturer,
or merely a toymaker  with a computer shaped toy  in its product line.
The judgement always comes back to  the  same thing:  it costs more to
support your long time customers than  to abandon them.   Do you spend
the money, and impress new people thinking seriously  of becoming your
next customers with your committment to your customer  base, or do you
save the money, and impress them  with their eventual fate should they
become your customers?

I'm really  not involved enough   to be truely   heated about this any
more; I  have  enough  A1000  software to   last a lifetime,  my legal
situation precludes me from   being  a  Commodore stock investor   any
longer,  and  I'm more looking    forward  to the high  speed   32 bit
AmigaDOS/Unix blend offering of the future than the A1000 which mostly
gathers dust since my  son moved  away.  Still,  I increased $5000  to
$15000 investing in Commodore stock in the past,  which leaves me with
a warm fuzzy feeling for Commodore, and I do hope it is able to make a
decision based  on long term reputation  and  increased loyal customer
base, rather than short term economics.

On the bright side, the comp.sys.amiga.hardware group  just carried an
announcement by a third party of a way to upgrade the A1000 to the 1.4
chips and OS, so there is both an alternative if  Commodore shirks its
responsibility to its customers,  and an indication  to Commodore that
the task is doable, if it chooses to shoulder responsibility instead.

[I must admit to a lot of admiration  for  Commodore's attempt to move
their  A1000 customer base   to  A2000's, but   the  fact is  that the
expected participation is probably minority, that the A1000 base won't
go away, and that there will remain  a  need for a  way for  A1000s to
follow the OS upgrades.  Besides, it is still the best looking machine
Commodore ever made!]

--
Again, my opinions, not the account furnishers'.

xanthian@well.sf.ca.us (Kent Paul Dolan)
xanthian@ads.com - expiring soon; please use Well address for replies.
Kent, the (bionic) man from xanth, now available as a build-a-xanthian
kit at better toy stores near you.  Warning - some parts proven fragile.

Just another unemployed computer graphics programmer.
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